--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poor humanity! I often feel that the…" description: "\"“Poor humanity! I often feel that the tableland of sanity upon which most of us dwell, is small in area, with unfenced precipices on every side, over a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/francis-galton-20376_nature-of-man_poor-humanity-i-often-feel-that-the-tabl_450023.jpg" --- # Poor humanity! I often feel that the tableland of sanity… ![“Poor humanity! I often feel that the tableland of sanity upon which most of us dwell, is small in area, with unfenced precipices on every side, over any one of which we may fall.” quote by Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/francis-galton-20376_nature-of-man_poor-humanity-i-often-feel-that-the-tabl_450023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/francis-galton-20376_nature-of-man_poor-humanity-i-often-feel-that-the-tabl_450023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/francis-galton-20376_nature-of-man_poor-humanity-i-often-feel-that-the-tabl_450023.jpg) > ““Poor humanity! I often feel that the tableland of sanity upon which most of us dwell, is small in area, with unfenced precipices on every side, over any one of which we may fall.”” [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human sanity is fragile, surrounded by hidden dangers that can easily cause us to slip. **In simple terms:** Sanity is fragile and precarious. Key Takeaway Stay aware of hidden risks. Themes psychology vulnerability human nature Mood cautious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - personal decisionmaking - mental health - risk management Key Concepts cognitive bias risk perception Questions to Reflect On - What unseen dangers might you be ignoring? - How can you strengthen your mental safeguards? A Different Perspective Awareness alone may not prevent accidents. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [“The heartfelt realization of one's insignificance yields a calming sense of being completely connected to the greater whole. 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If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More by Francis Galton > [The cat is the only non-gregarious domestic animal. It is retained by its extra-ordinary adhesion to the comforts of the house in which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/the-cat-is-the-only-non-gregarious-domestic-animal-it-is-retained-by/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [The publication in 1859 of the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin made a marked epoch in my own mental development, as it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/the-publication-in-1859-of-the-origin-of-species-by-charles-darwin/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [What nature does blindly, slowly and ruthlessly, man may do providently, quickly, and kindly. As it lies within his power, so it becomes his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/what-nature-does-blindly-slowly-and-ruthlessly-man-may-do-providently/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [A really intelligent nation might be held together by far stronger forces than are derived from the purely gregarious instincts. A nation need not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/a-really-intelligent-nation-might-be-held-together-by-far-stronger/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [Characteristics cling to families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/characteristics-cling-to-families/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [Exercising the right of occasional suppression and slight modification, it is truly absurd to see how plastic a limited number of observations become, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/exercising-the-right-of-occasional-suppression-and-slight/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [Well-washed and well-combed domestic pets grow dull; they miss the stimulus of fleas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/well-washed-and-well-combed-domestic-pets-grow-dull-they-miss-the/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [Englishmen Francis Galton to describe the "science" of bettering human stock and the elimination of unwanted characteristics... and individuals. Galton proposed societal intervention for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/englishmen-francis-galton-to-describe-the-science-of-bettering-human/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [ \[Statistics are\] the only tools by which an opening can be cut through the formidable thicket of difficulties that bars the path of those… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/statistics-are-the-only-tools-by-which-an-opening-can-be-cut-through/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [The conditions that direct the order of . . . the living world . . . are marked by their persistence in improving the birthright of successive generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/the-conditions-that-direct-the-order-of-the-living-world-are-marked/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [We greatly want a brief word to express the science of improving stock, which is by no means confined to questions of judicious mating,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/we-greatly-want-a-brief-word-to-express-the-science-of-improving/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [Whenever you can, count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/whenever-you-can-count/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [It is always the case with the best work, that it is misrepresented, and disparaged at first, for it takes a curiously long time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/it-is-always-the-case-with-the-best-work-that-it-is-misrepresented/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [The inferiority of photographs to the best works of artists, so far as resemblance is concerned, lies in their catching no more than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/the-inferiority-of-photographs-to-the-best-works-of-artists-so-far-as/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [Life is a republic where the individuals are for the most part unconscious that while they are working for themselves they are also working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/life-is-a-republic-where-the-individuals-are-for-the-most-part/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) [Explore all 31 Francis Galton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) ## More Nature of man quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. 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To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/) [Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/) > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Browse all 12,662 Nature of man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Poor humanity! 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